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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Suresh Kumar Kait, Saurabh Banerjee, JJ.
Ajay Kumar Awasthi - Appellant
Versus
Union of India - Respondent
W.P.(C) 3567 of 2014
Decided On : 02-12-2022
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. ssb structure and seniority issues (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4) |
| 2. claims of seniority and promotion rights (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. response and defense by respondents about promotion processes (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13) |
| 4. court's analysis on seniority criteria and rule application (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17) |
| 5. judicial precedent on retrospective seniority claims (Para 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23) |
| 6. delay and laches in legal claims (Para 24 , 25 , 26 , 27) |
| 7. implications of delay on service matters (Para 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32) |
| 8. final judgment and conclusion (Para 33 , 34 , 35) |
JUDGMENT
Saurabh Banerjee, J. As per petitioners, the `Sashastra Seema Bal' [Hereinafter referred to as "SSB"], earlier known as `Special Service Bureau', was raised under the Cabinet Secretariat for guarding the bordering states of India right after the Indo-China War of 1962. As per the then procedure, the seniority of the lower ranking personnel was being fixed at the Battalion level to accord promotions.
2. Pursuant to the recommendation of the 5th Central Pay Commission [Hereinafter referred to as "CPC"], accepted by the Government of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs [Hereinafter referred to as "MHA"] vide order No. 27012/1/97-PC Cell/PF.1 dated 10.10.1997, abolished the rank(s) of Lance Naik and Naik and merged them with the rank(s) of Constable and Head Constable respectively in all the Central Police Organizations, including the SSB. As such, the Central Industrial Security Force [Hereinafter referred to as "CISF"] carried out the necessary modifications in its Recruitment Rules to exclude the rank of Lance Naik and Naik.
3. Thereafter, vide order No.1/2/2011-EA.I-133 dated 15.01.2001, the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India permanently transferred SSB (then `Special Service Bureau') to MHA and assigned it the new role as the border guarding force on the Indo-Nepal border and the Indo-Bhutan border. Petitioners submit that though the seniority list was to be drawn up on centralized basis under MHA but no such inter-se seniority list was drawn up, hence, all actions regarding promotion continued arbitrarily.
4. Thereafter, the Director General, SSB vide Memorandum No.1/7/2002/SSB/E-II/1599-1650 dated 30.05.2002, issued certain guidelines regarding procedure to be followed with regard to fixation of inter-se seniority and regulation of promotion of Non-Gazetted personnel, in the rank of Constable, Lance Naik, Naik, Head Constable and Inspector of SSB. The relevant extract whereof are reproduced as under:
"CONSTABLES
2. Seniority of Constables will be maintained at unit level in accordance with Rule 8 of CRPF Act and Rules 1955. The following criteria for fixation of seniority will be adopted:
a) Seniority will be determined from the date of appointment.
b) If the date of appointment of two or more persons happens to be the same, senior in age will be placed over others.
3. In order to regulate promotion of Constables for higher ranks the promotion will be affected by Force Hqrs.
4. The cut off date will be decided by the Force Hqrs, which will be circulated to the FHQs and personnel eligible on the cut off date, would be eligible for promotion subject to acquiring all the eligible/conditions for promotion.
5. Since, the promotion will only be ordered by Force Hqrs, the inter Bn transfers will have no effect on seniority and therefore personnel on their posting to the units will maintain their seniority and will be placed at appropriate serial number on joining the new units.
L/NK/Naik/Head Constable
6. The following will be applicable:
a) The seniority of L/NK, Naik and HCs will be maintained at Force Hqrs.
b) The Inter-se-seniority of these ranks should be prepared on the basis of holding the rank continuously in the respective Battalions.
c) In case two or more persons are promoted on the same date the seniority of the feeder cadre will be taken into consideration.
Seniority between personnel promoted to higher rank and a p
The court upheld that administrative discretion in regulating seniority during organizational transitions is valid, nullifying claims if not pursued promptly by affected personnel.
The court upheld that seniority must be determined based on recruitment batch and performance in training, emphasizing timely challenges to promotions are essential to maintain stability in service r....
The court held that settled seniority cannot be disturbed after a long period, emphasizing the principle of res judicata and the limits of administrative power in altering promotion dates.
Seniority assigned to any employee could not be changed after a lapse of 7 years, though even on merit it was found that seniority of the petitioner therein had correctly been fixed.
Delayed claims in service matters can unsettle settled positions, making them unmaintainable without necessary parties involved.
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